Sean FitzPatrick to be Acquitted, Judge Recommends

By Patrick Brogan

The Anglo-Irish Bank saga continues to drag on and cause more hardship on the Irish people. Sean FitzPatrick, the former chairman, was directed to be acquitted by Judge Aylmer in the Dublin Circuit Central Court earlier this morning.

FitzPatrick may not have been the brains behind the various dodgy dealings within the bank, most fingers pointed towards David Drumm, but as chairman, he oversaw it all. What Drumm’s fate will be has yet to be decided.

FitzPatrick was on trial for a failure to disclose the bank’s loans to its auditors. He pleaded not guilty. The presiding judge said the investigation into these matters fell short of the unbiased and impartial standards that the ex-Anglo chairman, and everyone else, is entitled to.

While I can understand the judge’s point of view in protecting the balanced nature of the law, it is also frustrating because FitzPatrick gets off on a technicality. This is the second time Sean Fitzpatrick was acquitted in relation to crimes at Anglo.